The college football coaching carousel has been spinning so quickly it’s hard not to get nauseous. Mike Gundy was rumored to be a candidate for the Tennessee gig, but he’s staying at Oklahoma State. Now the Volunteers are reportedly interested in SMU’s Chad Morris, and if we wait long enough, Heath Shuler, Eric Ainge, and a co-coaching opportunity for Casey and Rick Clausen.
Thing about that…if I’m not mistaken, Casey is kicking ass as the coach of my alma mater and noted football power Calabasas High School. And no one is messing with the Coyotes. Don’t believe me, ask Clay Matthews, who went to our rival Agoura High, who routinely got their brains beaten in by us. No way Tennessee could pony up and outbid the rich cats at Calabasas for Casey Clausen. I’ll tell you something else: no way Casey Clausen leaves Calabasas High for the University of Tennessee: the Coyote gig is a much better job than the Tennessee job; so don’t waste your time asking the Calabasas High principle for permission to talk to Clausen; he’s not interested. Hell, the Coyotes would beat the Vols at this point.
Anyway, I digress….Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead is about to become Mississippi State head coach Joe Moorhead. Texas A&M are still rumored to be chasing Jimbo Fisher and according to USA Today, FSU is taking this seriously enough that they’re doing background research on Oregon’s Willie Taggart as a possible replacement.
Meanwhile, Arizona State has an opening after canning Todd Graham and initially they were linked with Kevin Sumlin. But now a new name has emerged on the scene. A former Buccaneers coach who hasn’t coached in college for a while, but what he lacks in recent college experience he makes up for in a strong, charismatic personality who’s become a household name as a broadcaster. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…yep, it’s another school linked with Jon Gru-wait, no, it’s Herm Edwards.
Yes, that Herm Edwards. The one who hasn’t coached college football in nearly three decades and hasn’t coached anywhere since 2008. The one who was 20 games under .500 as an NFL coach. What – Chan Gailey and Rich Kotite didn’t make the cut? Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot to like about Herm Edwards. For starters, if he can’t get you fired up to play a game of football, there’s something wrong with you. And I’m guessing he’d be pretty strong in a living room and could make a solid pitch as to why Arizona State is the right place for you.
But at the same time, surely Arizona State can find a coach who is, well, a coach. Herm is a broadcaster and analyst now. That’s not to say that he couldn’t do the job, but there have to be other head coaches or assistants who’d be interested in the ASU gig and have coached college football since the BCS was started. And then demolished. This isn’t Urban Meyer or Chip Kelly taking a brief timeout from coaching and spending a few months as an analyst. This is a guy who’s spent nearly a decade as an analyst.
I know there’s a connection between Edwards and ASU athletic director Ray Anderson, and that Anderson has been very public about wanting to keep both of the current coordinators on the new staff, so maybe he’s looking for something a little different. But this would feel like an incredible risk.
And maybe this is exactly what Tennessee should’ve done with Greg Schiano – come up with a crazy idea and float it to see what the reaction is. If the Vols had done that with Schiano, they’d have known how unpopular it would’ve been and they’d have saved themselves a ton of embarrassment. And a possible lawsuit from Schiano. Which might be what ASU is doing right now. Otherwise, they’re going off the board and taking a giant swing, which is either brilliant or insane. Or both. And what would recruits think? Oh yeah, that’s that crazy old dude on ESPN. Who’s he going to bring in as dee coordinator? Lee Corso? Really weird idea.
